


Sun Spots

by genee



Category: Popslash
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-07-21
Updated: 2003-07-21
Packaged: 2017-10-11 19:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/116019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genee/pseuds/genee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A CFTC ficlet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sun Spots

  
Nick approaches the lounge chairs slowly, letting his shadow creep toward the stars still posing in the afternoon sun, waiting until he's blocked the light entirely. "Time to go, Princess."

Cameron doesn't even twitch, which is good, because he isn't talking to her. Justin scowls up at him, eyes shaded by Nick's shadow, his own hand, and the god-awful sunglasses he's been wearing lately. "Fuck you, Chastain."

"Not today, Timberlake. You got other obligations." He winks at Cameron who pretends not to notice, and extends his hand. "You're here for the Challenge, man. Let's go."

Justin whispers something too low for Nick to hear, and Cameron smiles, finally, and whatever she whispers in return is what Justin needs, because just like that he's off the lounge chair and into a t-shirt and ready to go. Nick drapes his arm on Justin's shoulder, steering him back toward their hotel, heedless of the shadows behind them.

Justin's tired, Nick knows this, so he isn't surprised to find Justin sprawled across the suite's creamy sofa, still sandy and damp from the beach, before Nick's even locked the door. Justin's voice is soft, asking like he's afraid he already knows the answer, sounding for all the world like the boy he used to be, "Do they hate me, Nick? I'm pretty sure they hate me."

Nick is patient, which is one of the reasons he's here. He's patient, and he's known Justin forever, and that matters to Justin now, matters more than ever before. He nudges Justin until he shifts enough for Nick to fit beside him. "They're your best friends, J. They love you. They'll always love you."

"Like you?"

"Nah." But Nick's never wanted whatever it is the five of them have together; he knows it's love though, knows it always has been. "They love you like they love you, man. Not the same as me, but just as hard."

Justin nods, dips his head on Nick's shoulder. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. Fucking side project, man. Fuck."

"I know, J. The guys know, too. Relax."

He tries, forces his breathing into a deeper rhythm, slow and steady. Nick feels Justin's belly swell with each inhale, feels his lungs expand, feels the shuddery release when he exhales. When his breaths are long and smooth, Nick sends Justin off to shower before they both fall asleep, bundled together in a way he doesn't think Cameron would understand, not that Nick expects her to. Fuck. He doesn't even expect to come back before they're gone again, doesn't expect much of anything from her other than what she's doing right now, lounging by the shore, sipping fruity drinks and following the sun. She knows who she is, knows she doesn't need Justin by her side to make her shine.

Justin seems a little easier when he steps out of the bathroom, wrapped in a steamy cloud and a thick white towel, both of them bright against the pale shimmer of his skin. "They don't like her," he says, pulling a crisp shirt over his shoulders, blue, new, and nothing like the color of his eyes. "The guys, I mean."

 _The fans, either_ , Nick thinks but doesn't say. "They've been through this before, man. They'll adjust."

"She's not Brit."

"Nope."

"She's not gonna stick around."

Nick sighs, because damn it, what can he say to that? "She's doing okay with the tour, and she's an actress, yo. Famous and everything. She probably gets it."

"'S different when we're all together, though. They're my world, Nick. You know that."

"Yah." Nick meets Justin's eyes and squares his shoulders, serious as fuck, because this is it. This moment, this question, this is why he's here now, why Trace isn't. "But do you still want them to be? Because if not, man, now's the time."

If Nick had punched him then, full on, fist closed and all his weight behind it, he wouldn't have hurt Justin any more than he already had.

"Fuck you, Chastain." Justin's eyes are bruised with the force of the blow, swollen, and his voice is heavy with tears he isn't going to shed. Not now. "Fuck you, and fuck everyone who thinks that. NSYNC is all I've ever wanted."

Nick nods, quick and curt.

Justin scowls. "I'm not kidding, yo. I'm not letting them go, like, ever."

Nick smiles now, runs his hand through his hair. "It's not me you have to convince, J."

"But they know, right? They know."

Nick hates Miami and its fucking plastic pastel bullshit, flamingoes and Deco and roaches as big as Justin's hands, but he's here, and he's here for a reason. "Yah, they know."

"Even JC?"

"Especially JC. But tell 'em anyway, okay? It's always nice to hear."

Nick twirls the towel Justin dropped on the chair and snaps it quick, lets it snake toward the other man, loud and wet, bright as the smile he can't hold back. "Now quit pussy footing around and get your ass in gear. You have friends who miss you, man."

From the balcony, Nick watches Cameron soaking in the sun. She's beautiful, blonde and trashy, and Nick hopes they have fun while there's fun to be had, hopes they don't try to make it last even a second longer. When he turns, Justin's fixing a diamond stud in his ear and he's ready, anxious even.

"You almost done with yourself, Timberlake?"

"I am, yo. I think I really am."

Nick holds the door for Justin, watches his shadow stretch across the glitzy golden sprawl, and thinks maybe it's true, maybe some stars do shine brightest in the light. "Let's go, Princess."

\--END--


End file.
